Cate Blanchett Is Reportedly Joining a #MeToo Protest at Cannes

The actress is the president of this year’s Cannes Film Festival jury, and though she’s tasked with reviewing what many consider are the world’s greatest films, she’s also making sure one topic doesn't go unaddressed: sexual harassment.

According to WWD, Blanchett, as well as fellow jury member Kristen Stewart, will join about 100 actresses and female directors for a #MeToo red carpet protest on May 12. A representative for Blanchett did not immediately return InStyle's request for comment.

Blanchett has already been vocal about the importance of filmmaker diversity while hitting the press circuit, but added that change will not happen over night, and for now, she can only judge the films placed in front of her. “Is [#MeToo] going to have a direct impact on films in competition this year? Or six, nine months on? Not specifically," she told reporters. "The women here are not here because of their gender. They are here because of the quality of work. And we will be assessing them as filmmakers, as we should be."

After The New York Times broke the story of Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual assault and harassment, dozens of actresses joined forces to put an end to harassment across all industries, launching the Time's Up Legal Defense fund just ahead of the 2018 Golden Globes, when A-listers like Reese Witherspoon, Eva Longoria, Rashida Jones and more hit the red carpet wearing black as a show of solidarity with victims of abuse. British stars like Emma Watson supported a similar sartorially-driven protest at the BAFTA Awards, but the fashion protests seemed to fizzle by the time the Oscars closed out awards season in March, save for a handful of Time's Up pins that peppered the carpet.

Previously, the Cannes Film Festival has received criticism for its strict rules. In 2016, Julia Roberts hit the red carpet barefoot, in defiance of regulations that allegedly prohibited female guests from attending in any footwear besides high heels.

Earlier this month, Blanchett joined the harassment conversation, sharing her own Harvey Weinstein account. "Well, I wouldn’t do what he was asking me to do," she told Variety, adding support for Time's Up. "Part of the mission of Time’s Up is to help those who do not have the capacity to raise the funds to defend themselves and to move toward workplace equality, fairness and safety. When legal precedent is set by people being actually convicted, then other people can benefit from that because those precedents have been set. But me fueling the gossip and accounts? There’s enough out there."

But harassment isn't the only cause that Blanchett is taking on at Cannes. The Australian actress arrived to the festival’s opening ceremony in a black Giorgio Armani Privé gown that she previously wore to the Globes in 2014, marking a conscious, eco-friendly move.

Venturelli/WireImage

“From couture to T-shirts, landfill is full of garments that have been unnecessarily discarded. Particularly in today’s climate, it seems willful and ridiculous that such garments are not cherished and re-worn for a lifetime,” she told InStyle.

Too bad she's an Aussie, because we could've been on board for Blanchett 2020.